


Out of Range

by BananaSins



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, bad ending au for my soul calibur 6 novelization, decided to tag it as original work since groh is just mentioned, i mean i hope it's angst enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 07:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20078362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BananaSins/pseuds/BananaSins
Summary: "She was nothing more than a box filled with mistakes, regret and pain, approaching tomorrow with an unwavered smile on her face as she took on people that dare disturb the peace of the community."





	Out of Range

**Author's Note:**

> As mentioned in the tags, this is a bad ending alternate universe of Soul Calibur 6's Libra of Soul. It's AU since it's also related to my on-going Libra of Soul novelization, which you can find in my profile if you're interested.
> 
> Heavily inspired by Brand New's song with the same title, Out of Range. This is *not* a song fic.

(As we lay)  
And in these smaller designs  
There's something larger you might find  
(We start to pray)  
That people's hands have worked together to make up the parts of you.  
(As we lay)

_ [Out of Range - Brand New](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsKocqfHL7I) _

* * *

Her dual sabers slashed through the air, the breeze howled as it sliced into the frozen ice, cutting it in two. The contrasting colors of her blades would be a memento of the life she could never experience ever again, a promise she had to fulfill in order to end his pain and suffering. Groh's Arondight was attached to the upper part of her Scharfricter's handle. Even if he was now dead, at least, it would feel as if he were still fighting with her.

That was what Trine wanted to feel. Every time she wielded her customized weapon, every time her eyes landed on the indigo blade that she now calls as her own, she would smile and remain cool, remain ready.

The woman pivoted her right foot then swung her arms as she let out a roar, the blades cutting through the air with a sharp hum from the wind. The way she moved her arms, the way her blades pointed in the air, and the same sudden hesitation that spiraled inside her stomach, this was the same move she used to attack him one last time. 

Trine could see the vision in front of her, the damned memory that plagued her for weeks emerging yet again. Groh had a smile of relief engraved on his chapped lips, relieved that he wouldn't hurt her anymore, especially after he lost control of his malfested form. A faint gasp escaped his weary throat, his widened eyes glancing down at his torso, her scarlet blade twinkled as its blade was buried deep within his chest. His lips then curled into a wider smile, a large smile that expressed his gratitude. His grip on his own saber had slackened, the blade merely grazing her right shoulder. 

“I’ll always love you, Trine…” Groh reached up and cupped her cheek, before falling limp into her arms.

Hearing those words, her ability to gather oxygen has ceased, her breath now trapped in her throat. Trine could only watch him die in her arms, unable to cry or scream in agony. The memory burned her, it pierced her, it sickened her, it _ haunted _ her. No, she should be used to the memory right now. It had been _ months _ since that incident, _ months. _ She was already facing it with a headstrong attitude, she was now taking jobs aimed for freelance mercenaries like her… Trine already moved on from the pain.

And yet…

Her body remained on her stance, as if she was a statue made of fine marble. Her weight was placed on her bent right leg, while her left leg was outstretched backward, her right hand raised in the air, the tip of Scharfricter pointing towards the horizon while Arondight was just a mere inches away from making contact with her body. Trine realized her eyes were closed shut, only seeing nothing but black. The grip on the hilt of her blades was strong, her knuckles turning white, but when she finally released a long breath, her fingers uncurled, her grip slackening. When she heard her dual sabers fell to the ground, her legs gave out. She fell down to her knees, her knees drowning from the chill of the powdered snow on the ground. 

Oh, Groh… Her vision became blurry as the cold embraced her weary body. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, it gave a juxtaposed warmth on her skin against the cold temperature. She let the feelings flow down, her bottled emotions breaking out inside her chest. She couldn't keep it from emerging anymore, it was too late to stop it now.

Why did she have to live? Why did she have to survive? She clenched her fists and punched it on the ground, the cold already penetrating through her bare skin, but she didn’t care as she kept on punching, even if she would get frostbite. 

God, why did she have to continue living? To live with the fact that she killed her beloved to fulfill one promise over the other? She was nothing more than a box filled with mistakes, regret and pain, approaching tomorrow with an unwavered smile on her face as she took on people that dare disturb the peace of the community. She should have died, she should have _ died _ with him! Together, their bodies being pulled into the ground, brown pupils gazing at his olive pupils, the pool of scarlet beneath their weary bodies. Spending their last breath staring at one another, smiling lovingly as they eventually close their eyes shut.

There was no harsh wind that blew in her direction. The area was dead silent, there were no cicadas singing from the sky.

Trine slowly rose from the ground. Her knees and hands were swollen and freezing, but no amount of physical pain could camouflage the aching thorns inside her heart. She had reached her breaking point, and tonight, she would permit herself to cry and grieve again. 

Groh was someone dear to her, someone that added a spin to her rather average life. He was a simple man, doing his duties and showing the world he was only here for business, but when they finally had a chance to mingle, all melted as she wormed her way inside his heart. In return, he stole hers. Trine knew that it would take more than a decade to learn to love someone else again, and if she ever found falling for someone else, she knew it wouldn’t last long. Groh was the other half of her life, and so was she to his life. If she would live the rest of her life alone, then so be it.

She twirled her dual sabers, the powdered snow that coated her blade cascaded down to the ground. Trine breathed deeply, filling her lungs with a much needed oxygen after picking the pieces of herself back together. When she comes back home, she would cook herself a warm vegetable soup, Groh’s favorite, and let herself drown in grief, in despair, so tomorrow will be another day where she grew stronger, where Groh would be a part of her, where his soul and very being would be inside her heart. 

As she was ready to sheath her dual sabers back to her hips, her ears picked up a faint growling from a distance. She held onto her blades, fingers holding the hilt tight. The noise slowly grew louder, and a shadow slowly emerged from the distance. Witnessing the skin as pale as snow, and the awfully familiar growl of a beast, this was a malfested that got lost in her place. 

She was ready to leap and strike until she got a good look at the malfested’s appearance, her eyes scanning the long, blond hair that adorned the roundish face of the beast. Trine may see the obvious glowing red eyes of the malfested, but the tattered long-sleeved sapphire tunic dress with the golden trims was no doubt a friend she had from the past. Four or five years? Trine couldn’t even recall anymore. The very image of her best friend succumbing to the power of the Evil Seed, her child-like face morphed into someone that wanted to be angry but appeared to be cuter than intended, it filled her heart with dread.

“I guess I have to put you in your place, too, huh?” Her voice lacked the usual confidence she wield whenever she was ready to fight. She merely stared at the malfested with a disheartened frown.

The malfested roared in response, her nails digging on her face. She had marred her face with scratch wounds, but it didn’t deter the malfested from staring back at her with furrowed brows and a face that showed her intent to kill. She kept growling, her hands now clenched in front of her, ready to pull the punch.

“And unlike the others, you can’t even speak…” Trine heaved out a small sigh as she readied her stance. “I’ll put you at peace, my old friend…” A small smile escaped her lips, as if a heavy burden she was carrying all along had been lifted, “Like how I’ll make peace with myself today, to push on with a stronger resolve.” 

For Groh, for her family, for her friends…

The malfested snarled at her, her glowing red eyes bored directly at her soul. Trine knew she couldn’t respond back, the malfested was too far gone. She herself couldn’t even recall her name, but she knew her, her face, her voice, the memories treasured forever. Her thumb brushed against the surface of the handle as she breathed through her nose. She must do this, for both her and the malfested’s sake. Unlike the various beasts she had slain, and the people she had to let go, this woman had lost her ability to be human. 

Slouching, the malfested dashed forward, her hands outstretched, ready to dig her nails on her flesh. Trine merely sidestepped to the right then pivoted her left foot, delivering a spinning kick to her lower back. Sighing, she dropped her dual sabers to the ground with a soft thud, watching the malfested rose from the ground with another snarl.

“I can’t bring myself to stab you, my friend.” Trine gave her a soft smile, earning a roar from the malfested. This would be the only time she would end her life with her own bare fists--she had to prove her strength after all. “I am your knight in shining armor, after all.”

The malfested leaped towards her, nails scratching air as Trine dodged her assaults with ease, swerving left and right, opposite of her attacks. True to being a knight in shining armor, Trine waited for the malfested to throw a punch instead of performing a sucker punch that will caught her off-guard. When she did, Trine blocked her punch with her palm, then delivered a strike of her own towards her chin, sending her body to the ground with a loud thud.

The malfested only laid there, unmoving. Her eyelids were already closed, hiding the sign of the fading glow of her pupils.

Trine took a deep breath, accepting the fact that this malfested, whose name she would never ever know again, would be joining the people she would find again on the other side. Curtis, Groh, Maxi, her family… Standing on the snowy ground with her hand holding tightly on her weapon, Trine gave herself a moment of peace. She only stayed there, staring at the body of her friend. 

Will the snow bury her body underneath, or would she eventually gave the malfested a proper burial?

Only time could tell.

This malfested, along with the rest of the people that laid down to rest permanently, they’d come in her life to weave and work together the fabric that made up the parts of her, that shaped up who she was now. They may be now out of range for her to reach, but Trine knew, the next time she awoke from a slumber, her treasured memories with them will be sewed deep inside her heart.


End file.
